Textual Cohesion and Narrative Structure in Al-Maqama Al-Wabariyya by Al-Hariri

This paper studies the textual cohesion and narrative structure in Al-Maqama Al-Wabariyya by Al-Hariri who developed the art of Maqamat that achieved a widespread fame to attract the attention of researchers through his effort in that regard. The research will explore the aspects of textual cohesion in Al- Maqama and its narrative structure through two of the seven textual standards provided by De Beaugrande, namely textual consistency and narrative harmony.
 
This research seeks to answer the following questions:
- What are the manifestations of the textual consistency of Al-Maqama?
- What are the manifestations of the semantic harmony of Al-Maqama?
- What does the narrative structure of Al-Maqama look like?
- What are the textual components of Al-Maqama? How did Al-Hariri employ them?
 
The research will utilize the descriptive analytical method in light of the textual approach concerned with studying the textual structure through the seven criteria providing the text its textuality. This can be done through benefiting from the categories of narratology concerned with studying the characteristics of narrative texts; analyzing their narrative components; showing the reflection of their interconnectedness in the harmony in the textual and narrative structure; and through the contributions of Gerard Genette in his study of the narrator, the narrator's patterns, and narrative time.
The research aims at revealing the material and semantic coherence of Al-Maqama, the nature of its narrative structure, and discovering its components and characteristics. The research has two chapters. The First Chapter entitled The Textual Cohesion in Al-Maqama Al-Wabariyya includes two sections: the textual cohesion and semantic harmony of Al-Maqama. The Second Chapter named The Narrative Structure in Al-Maqama Al-Wabariyya includes the narrative elements of Al- Maqama, namely the narrator, character, time and place.